An Accidental Rehearsal
by my untold fairy-tale
Summary: After the first movie. Twinkle Towne rehearsals are in full swing. Gabriella and Troy were supposed to be rehearsing, but when something comes up and Gabriella is left on her own Ryan Evans becomes her acting coach for this accidental rehearsal. Oneshot.


An Accidental Rehearsal

AN: This is my second High School Musical fan fiction. I promise this one is not as sad as the last. This is after the first movie, during the rehearsals for Twinkle Towne.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this, Disney owns the films, the characters, the universe, and possibly time itself. 

**An Accidental Rehearsal**

It was a Thursday afternoon and rehearsals for Twinkle Towne were in full swing. Gabriella Montez was sitting in the auditorium, hanging her feet off the edge of the stage. She was supposed to be rehearsing with Kelsi and Troy. Unfortunately, Troy had to cancel earlier that day because there was a last minute golf practice scheduled. _That's just silly, golf practice couldn't be announced in advance?_ She thought, slightly annoyed. She took another glance at her cell phone which she had sitting next to her. She knew where Troy was, but Kelsi was fifteen minutes late, which was very unlike her. Sighing at her lack of messages, she pulled out her copy of the sheet music. She could at least work on the words while she waited. She read over the words humming the melody and swinging her feet, keeping time.

Just then the doors at the back of the auditorium opened ever so slightly. Gabriella panicked and shoved the music back into her shoulder bag. Despite her very public call back she was not exactly comfortable singing in front of people, at least not by herself. She quickly ran though a mental list, trying to figure out who would be coming through the door. It wasn't Kelsi; she always came in the side doors. Troy wouldn't be out of practice for hours. She watched as a young man in a blue and grey newsboy cap stepped into the room. She was surprised; Ryan Evans was rarely ever seen without his twin, they were often viewed as a package deal. But today, at least for the moment, he seemed to be flying solo and he hadn't seen her yet. He had been focusing on silently closing the door behind him. She moved to get up, hoping that she could slip away before he noticed her presence. She could explain to Kelsi why she wasn't where they usually met later. However, as she went to pick up her bag it slipped from her hand and toppled off the stage and onto the floor. _So much for going unnoticed _she thought glumly. It wasn't that she didn't like Ryan. She just didn't want to disturb him. At the sound of the crash he turned to find the source. It drew Ryan's attention directly to her.

"Here, let me help," he said as he rushed towards the stage. Gabriella was currently contemplating if she wanted to just jump off the stage or walk all the way around to the steps and back. The jumping option was not something she favored; heights had always been a problem, even if they weren't that high.

"Come on, I won't drop you," he said as he grinned and motioned to help her off the stage. Gabriella hesitated. She wasn't so sure. Ryan wasn't exactly known for his strength. But she decided that it would be more awkward to have him picking up her stuff, or worse, watch her as she made her way to the stairs and then to her bag.

"Okay," she replied as she sat at the edge of the stage and slid off the brim. With her hands on his shoulders for support, Ryan gripped her waist and gracefully brought her to the ground. _He's stronger than he looks_ she reflected as she smiled appreciatively. They both kneeled to gather Gabriella's fallen school work.

"So, what are you doing here anyway?" Ryan asked as they finished piling everything back into her bag.

"Rehearsing. I could ask you the same thing."

"I came in to work on some of the sets. You're rehearsing by yourself?" He questioned, even if he wasn't in the production, the drama club always needed help.

"I was supposed to have a rehearsal with Troy and Kelsi. But Troy has golf practice and I have no idea where Kelsi is." _And where is your other half? _She wondered. They stood and Ryan handed the bag back to Gabriella.

"Oh," Ryan looked slightly guilty, "I do. That's part of why I'm here. Sharpay and I car pooled today and she's the reason Kelsi isn't here. I believe my sister's words were 'understudies need rehearsal too.' She's kind of holding Kelsi hostage. Sorry." He gave her an apologetic grin and rubbed the back of his neck.

"That's fine. It's not your fault."

It was the truth. Ryan could not control Sharpay or what she did. Gabriella didn't blame Kelsi for being intimidated by Sharpay either. She tended to have that effect on people. The pair walked towards the stairs that lead on to the stage, more out of habit than anything else.

"But still, is there anything that I can do?" He asked, raising his eyebrows questioningly.

_How sweet._ Gabriella thought and smiled at his offer as they stopped near center stage.

"No, I just wanted some help with one of the duets before my study session with Taylor."

"I could stand in if you want," he offered.

"I don't want to put you out."

"Nonsense, I've got no where else to be." He said shrugging at the empty auditorium.

She didn't say anything and the silence became awkward. She was not so sure about singing with Ryan he had so much more experience in this than her. Plus she had already made herself look foolish enough.

"Or I can just leave if you don't want me here," he said as he turned to go back down the steps.

"That's not it," she called quickly and he turned around to face her, "I don't think I can sing without the piano." She needed a lot of help on this song and without the music she wouldn't get anywhere.

"Ah, I see," he was slightly relieved; "do you have the sheet music?" Ryan asked as he walked back towards her.

"Yeah, it's right here." She pulled the pages out of her bag and handed them to him.

"Then there's no problem." With that Ryan walked over to the piano and set up the music.

"You play?"

"I am a man of many talents," he said with a smile as he glanced at her and then back to the sheet music. Gabriella giggled.

"It would appear so," she replied, "and just ignore the doodles, it's kind of distracting, I know." She cast her eyes downward at the realization of just how many ridiculous hearts and stars were covering the page.

"I think it adds character," he said winking at her.

She giggled. "You are funnier than I thought you were." She regretted the phrasing as soon as it left her mouth. _That was dumb…and kind of insulting._ "I mean. . ."

"Don't worry about it, I know what you meant. Let me guess, you think that it's all drama all the time with me?"

"Yeah, sorry."

"Don't be," he played some scales on the piano, "I get that a lot. But watch this."

He took off his hat and tossed it in the air, the hat flipped and Ryan caught it on his head. All the while he was accompanying his antics with comedic piano rhythms. Gabriella laughed and applauded.

"Thank you, thank you," Ryan said bowing, the little that he could from his seat, "But seriously now, let's get to work."

They worked through the first verse and when they hit the chorus Gabriella stopped suddenly. She had been caught off guard by the sound of both of their voices.

"Wow, sorry, I just didn't expect us to sound that good."

"We do sound good together don't we? But you know, what we could sound better." He proceeded to give her tips on how to express the song better. "Okay, the thought behind this song, I think, is Minnie and Arnold explaining to each other what they see in each other and the magic of Twinkle Towne."

"Okay?" She wasn't really sure of what to make of that.

"What I mean is you need more emotion. We aren't putting out a soundtrack. We, well you, are acting in a play. I'm going to record it so you can practice with it later." He took out his phone and set it on the piano to record, "we are going to go through this on more time. Then…"

Gabriella cut him off, "You're not going to leave are you?" She was having a great time and finally understanding the song.

"No, well unless you want me too, I was thinking more along the lines of acting out some of the scenes."

"Oh," she instantly looked down at her shoes and tucked her hair behind her ear. _If I had a nickel for every time I've embarrassed myself around him today._

"Hey now, none of that embarrassed stuff. You're an actress remember?" She risked a glance at him and he gave her a warm smile. She couldn't help but return it.

They ran through the song once more, just as he said they would. It was pretty close to perfect that time.

Gabriella was getting pretty comfortable around Ryan. She didn't have a problem going over the top performing with him, probably because he did the same. She was having a lot of fun, but then a thought struck her.

"About how long do your sister's rehearsals usually last?" It wasn't that she was trying to get rid of him by any means, but she really wasn't keen on the thought of Sharpay bursting in at with no warning. As if he could read her mind he told her exactly what she wanted to hear.

"Don't worry. Shar's notorious for her rehearsals. They last for hours. And just because she's an understudy doesn't mean that her practice will be any less epic." With that they continued working.

Gabriella was amazed at Ryan's versatility. _No wonder he gets so many roles, he's fantastic. _He played the part of Arnold in every imaginable genre, from spaghetti western to mime, all the while giving her tips on how to bring more to the stage. They were doubled over laughing, as a result of Ryan's dramatic monologue in the styling of Scooby-Doo, when her phone rang.

"Oh, hi Taylor," she walked to the other side of the stage to talk, turning away from Ryan in the process, "Sorry, I didn't realize how late it was."

Ryan started to gather the script pages together, figuring Gabriella would need to leave. He didn't want her to go. She had so much potential for the arts, they were making such progress. Plus, she was adorable and sweet, and he was having a fantastic time. As he organized the papers he couldn't help but over hear her on the phone.

"You know what? Could we move the study session to tomorrow night? I've got some stuff I have to finish up, and I don't know when it'll be done.

"Thanks, sorry about it being so last minute. Bye." She hung up the phone and turned back around to face Ryan. He was thrilled, but a little confused. He didn't think she would cancel on Taylor to work with him.

"What? You said yourself, Sharpay's practices go on for hours. I figure she knows how to be a star better than I do. I'm game if you are." She offered.

Ryan just smiled, took out the script and sat back down at the piano.

_FIN_


End file.
